About Whitelady Waterfall
Whitelady Waterfall is a 30m high waterfall on a tributary of the River Lyd in the Lydford Gorge National Trust area (governing perhaps the deepest river gorge in the South West of England).
Situated in the western edge of Dartmoor National Park, the waterfall resides in a landlocked ancient oak woodland serving as a functioning habitat for wildlife.

The Lydford Gorge actually has two paid areas for public access with the Whitelady Waterfall being one of the paid sections and the Devil’s Cauldron being the other.
The Devil’s Cauldron is a sort of pothole in the deepest part of the Lydford Gorge, where a developed catwalk over the river can be traversed in an experience similar to the developed gorges found in both Germany and Austria.
Unfortunately for our early July 2024 visit, we showed up too late in the day to do both excursions and wound up choosing the Whitelady Waterfall over the Devil’s Cauldron.
Speaking of which, in order to visit the Lydford Gorge’s main waterfall, we had to pay 27.5 pounds (about $34 USD) for the family (which was the same price as paying for 2 adults at 11 pounds and a child at 5.5 pounds).

Then, we went on a pretty short and straightforward 1.1km hike in each direction (2.2km round-trip) on a well-established trail with an upside-down trajectory (i.e. we descended first then climbed on the way out).
The beginning of the trail actually went by the brink of the Whitelady Waterfall, but the archway to get close to the waterfall from up there was closed during our visit.
In any case, the trail then went down a couple of gently-sloping switchbacks before following along the River Lyd upstream towards the side ravine containing the main waterfall.
There was a bridge spanning the River Lyd that dead-ended at its other end, but we managed to briefly go up its side ravine to get right in front of the base of the impressive Whitelady Waterfall.

This was a pretty straightforward visit perfect for taking in the Nature as well as photographs, but swimming is strictly forbidden here.
So our visit didn’t last long, and we went back up to the car park (see directions below) after spending about 40 minutes or so on this excursion.
There was a trail that went about a mile or so along the River Lyd towards the Devil’s Cauldron, but we didn’t do that trail so we can’t say anything more about this option.
Authorities
The Whitelady Waterfall is in the Lydford Gorge National Trust near the village of Lydford in Devon County, England. It is managed by the National Trust. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the National Trust website.
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